


Seeing in Color

by mermaidtellstales



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-10-03 18:00:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17288747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mermaidtellstales/pseuds/mermaidtellstales
Summary: Mercy and Gabe meet at work and suddenly their greyscale worlds burst into beautiful color. But what happens to them after the fall of Overwatch?That's up to you.This is a piece in several parts. Chapter one is the beginning of everything, but after that, the chapters offer multiple scenarios and endings. You can choose your favorite ending to be what truly happens to them.





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> I felt that Gabe offers a particular element of mystery to AUs that figure into death. How would his partner see the color? How would he? So when my friend suggested MercyKill for the soulmate AU my mind went wild with possibilities. So here's my attempt to get them in some semblance of order. 
> 
> If you end up wanting more, you can message me on tumblr at https://mermaidtellstales.tumblr.com/ and submit your suggestion!

Angela looked around at her new med-bay and sighed. She had to keep reminding herself that she was there because she could help more people, but she missed knowing where everything was.

“Angela, you got a minute?” Morrison called through the door. She turned around and threw her hands up.

“I have nothing else to do,” she replied. He smiled and motioned for her to follow him.

“I just want you to meet some of our Blackwatch members,” he replied.

“Your what?” She asked.

“They’re the ones that get their hands really dirty,” he replied.

“Oh joy,” she grumbled, making him chuckle.

“Gabe, get out here real fast,” he called into a doorway, motioning her over to the door. “Angela, this is Gabriel Reyes. Gabe, this is our new surgeon, Angela Ziegler.”

A large man came around the corner and Angela’s heart stopped for a moment as the world around her changed. She took a step back for a moment, and vaguely heard Morrison excuse himself and watched a blur of color streak by her.

Color, she was seeing color for the first time. She looked up at the man in front of her, who looked about as dazed as she felt.

“So, Angela,” he said after a moment. “What a beautiful name.” He flashed a dazzling smile at her and her heart did a flip.

“Thank you,” she said with a smile.

“So, did you…?“

“I see it to.”

“Well, isn’t it just convenient that we work together,” he said, collecting himself and leaning against the wall.

“I mean, I hope you’re not constantly in my med-bay,” she replied with a soft giggle. “That wouldn’t be particularly pleasant for you.”

“I don’t know, if it gives me an excuse to look at you-“

“AY REYES!” A young voice yeled from inside the room. Gabriel winced and sighed. Angela peered around him as the doorway opened and a young man in a cowboy hat poked out, a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

“He’s behind me, isn’t he?” Gabriel asked in a stage whisper. Angela laughed and nodded his head as the young man looked mildly offended.

“What? Ya hidin’ from me out here? Who you flirtin with?” The young man asked, walking around and giving Angela a once over. “You look smart, whatcha doin’ down here?”

“Do you know when to shut up and read a room?” Gabriel asked gruffly.

“Nope!” The young man announced proudly. Angela laughed again while Gabriel shoved the hat further down the other man’s face.

“Get back inside, adults are talking,” He replied.

“I’m an adult!”

“If you have to remind others that you’re old enough to be an adult, you’re not an adult,” Gabriel replied. “Now get back inside, I’ll be back in a minute.”

“I ain’t going anywhere until I’m introduced!” The young man slid into a sitting position on the floor eagerly, and Angela laughed even harder. Gabriel rolled his eyes in reply.

“This little miscreant is Jesse McCree. Miscreant, this is Doctor Ziegler. There, you’re introduced. Go back inside or I’m going to make you run laps around the cafeteria while piggybacking Tolbjörn,” Gabe threatened. McCree tipped his hat to Angela.

“Nice to meet ya Doc’, I’ll see ya ‘round,” He said before pushing himself along the ground and back into the room with his feet. Angela had to restrain the ungodly laughter bubbling up while Gabe hid his face in his hands and muttered something she didn’t understand under his breath.

“I swear,” he sighed, “That boy is out to embarass me.”

“He seems like a sweet kid,” Angela replied.

“Yeah, that impression wears right off,” He informed her. “I should get back inside. I’ll come by to get your number later.”

“I’ll be in the medbay all day,” she informed him with a smile. He smiled back before looking down the hall. He leaned in close to her and her heart sped up.

“I’d offer to walk you back since you don’t know your way around yet,” He whispered. “But Jack’s been eavesdropping at the end of the hall.” Angela turned around and saw the little bit of a coat peeking around the corner and giggled.

“Well, I’ll head back. I look forward to getting to know you,” she said before walking off. He smiled at her and went back into the room, a wide smile on his face.

“It’s rude to listen in on other people’s conversations,” she informed Commander Morrison as she walked up to him. He turned back around the corner and shrugged.

“Well, he would have told me about it later,” he said. “I’m just glad his soulmate ended up being a good influence.” Angela laughed and followed him back to the medbay.

Over the following months Gabriel found multiple excuses to end up in her medbay while she was working. It wasn’t long before people were shocked to see them apart, even at work.

Naturally they worried to no end when one or the other was gone on official business. While others who had soulmates also in Overwatch understood their struggle, they still recieved no small amount of teasing for worrying over each other.

It wasn’t uncommon for the two of them to disappear for a little while when they returned. Nobody was sure where they hid (the unused janitors closet on the storage floor) whenever this happened. But everyone figured it was better that way. At least they were discreet about it.

They lived happily until the incident in Rialto. Though she wasn’t completely on board with Gabe’s decision, she understood why he acted as he did. Afterwards Jack pressured Angela to get Gabe “back on the right path.” This caused multiple fights between Jack and Gabe, with Gabe saying that Jack should leave Angela out of it and Jack insisting that it was the only way he could think of to get Gabriel to stop acting foolishly.

One day after the uprising in Kings Row, Gabe returned home and collapsed into Angela, holding her close.

“Is everything alright?” She asked, wrapping her arms around his waist.

“Just stressed,” he mumbled into her hair. She smiled and leaned into his chest.

“It’ll work out, it always does,” she reminded him, making him chuckle.

“Somehow,” he agreed. “I had a thought, why don’t you call out of work tomorrow?” She leaned back a little bit and looked up at him. He had this face that he used at work that made it impossible for even her to read him, and he was wearing it now.

“Why?” She asked. “I mean, I wouldn’t mind getting extra sleep, but why?” He shrugged.

“I’d planned on getting off early tomorrow, and thought that maybe we could just spend some time together. It’s been so long since we went out together, or even just stayed in and relaxed. Whatever you felt like,” He said.

“There’s that one movie we’ve been meaning to watch,” she said with a smile. He smiled in return, looking almost relieved.

“It’s settled then,” he said. “You’ll get some extra sleep, and then we’ll go out tomorrow on a proper date.” She laughed and leaned into him again.

The next morning she woke to the bed shifting. She rolled over sleepily as Gabe got up.

“I didn’t mean to wake you up,” he said softly, taking her hand and giving it a light squeeze.

“I needed to tell Jack I’m not coming in, so it’s fine,” She said, squeezing his hand back. He smiled softly at her before going to shower. She rolled back over and grabbed her phone, sending Jack a text saying she wasn’t feeling amazing and would be in the following morning. He replied quickly telling her to get some rest, that since she’d worked so much lately she could get the day.

She cocooned herself in the covers again as Gabe came out fully dressed.

“Have a good day,” she said nuzzling into the pillow.

“Sleep well, do I need to turn of your alarm?” He asked with a smile, seeing the icon still on her clock.

“Please,” she yawned. He flipped the alarm off and leaned down to give her a kiss.

“I love you,” he whispered in her ear.

“I love you too,” she replied, kissing him again before he walked out the door, the lock clicking into place behind him.


	2. Back to Grey: 2A

Angela woke up, snug and well rested, and stretched before opening her eyes to see what time it was.

Her heart stopped.

Her clock, which was supposed to be blue and purple, appeared grey and black. She started up and looked around the studio apartment. Where there was supposed to be color, there was only grayscale.

It was familiar to her, she lived the first half of her life in it, but she hadn’t expected to see it again for another twenty years at least. Her brain kicked in and she snatched up her phone. She tried calling him first, and got his voicemail. She texted him, and Ana, and Jack.

Nothing.

She nervously paced around, waiting for someone to respond, until frantic knocking came at the door. She rushed over and opened it up, and Lena fell into the room.

“Thank god, I thought you might have been there,” she sighed, sprawling out on the floor as Reinhardt limped in with Torbjörn.

“What happened, why are you bleeding?” She asked, eyeing the black liquid coming out of cuts and noses. “Where’s Gabe?” Reinhardt eyed her sadly.

“You can’t see color anymore, can you?” He asked.

“How did you-“

“He was in that area with Jack when it blew up,” he replied. “Assuming Jack hadn’t killed him by then.”

“What?” She shouted, her voice cracking.

Tracer took over, explaining there was a huge fight, someone accidentally set of a chain of explosions starting in one of the wings. They were among the few lucky enough to get out of there safe and sound. Torbjörn Turned on the tv and they all listened to the live commentary on the situation. Waiting for the count of the confirmed death count while they contacted family and let them know they were safe. Angela went into Mercy Mode, running around disinfecting and stitching and pressing cold packs to parts until she heard the announcer say that they had confirmed the death of both Jack Morrison and Gabriel Reyes.

She stopped dead in her tracks as it hit her, bloody cloth in her hand.

“Angie, you okay?” Lena asked. Mercy dropped the cloth and fell to her knees sobbing. Lena rushed to her side and held her while she cried.

“She’s known though-” Reinhardt said sadly.

“Aye, but sometimes it takes a while for heartbreaking news to connect,” Torbjörn replied.

She eventually calmed down and went back to caring for her friends, offering Lena a place on the couch for the night. Lena almost declined, but caught the look on Tolbjörn’s face, and agreed.

And she was there when Angela started crying again, and laid down next to her, holding her hand in an attempt to comfort her.

Gabriel gasped into consciousness, opening his eyes and taking in the dark surroundings.

“Where am I?” he muttered. His last memory was closing his eyes, the sounds of explosions all around while he bled out. Now he was miraculously alive. His first thought was that Angela had rushed to work after finding out about the fight, fixed him up like she had Genji.

Then he realized that the room wasn’t grey. The screen in the corner was opened to a live-stream, of the events at the Swiss headquarters. The building hadn’t been dark grey, and neither had the sky.

His stomach clenched as Moira walked into the room.

“Good, you’re awake,” she said, sitting back down at the computer and pulling up some document.

“Angela-”

“No idea,” She replied. “An acquaintance offered me his lab, and I brought you here. She wasn’t among the confirmed dead, but there other medical personnel I watched die that weren’t on the list either.”

“I can’t see color, she’s gone,” he whispered, leaning back and staring at the ceiling. “I thought I’d gotten her out of the way, that she was safe in bed.”

“This is Mercy we’re talking about,” Moira replied. “How many disasters and wars has she flown off to volunteer her abilities? I wouldn’t be shocked if Jack contacted her and she rushed over.”

“You’re not helping,” He grumbled.

“I saved you, that’s the most help you’re going to get,” she scoffed. “Telling you she might still be alive when solid evidence suggests otherwise is foolish. Not like you could have been with her after this without putting her reputation in danger. The governments know what you did.”

He didn’t reply. He closed his eyes and remembered how she looked the morning he left. Her blonde hair mussed by sleep, a tiny smile on her lips, safe and happy curled up under the sheets. He felt a stabbing pain in his chest, the same one he got whenever he thought about what could happen to her while she was assisting a crisis, but so much worse.

Because this time it wasn’t just an anxious thought.

Years passed and they both came to grips with not having a grave to visit, or an extra warm body to hold in bed after a stressful day, or the smile that made everything better. Reaper and Moira joined Talon, while Angela went wherever she was needed, her Valkyrie suit in tow. Occasionally they would get a glimpse of red on an apple, or a yellow leaf falling to the ground in autumn. But both dismissed it as their brain trying to make an excuse.

One day Mercy was called to Dorado by Reinhardt, who had gone there to assist some person or another with Torbjörn’s little girl in tow. He’d asked her to come and help keep the two of them safe, mostly Brigitte since Ingrid would kill him if anything happened to her, and Angela agreed.

“Talon forces will be here,” he informed her while they prepared before the mission. “We have to make sure this cargo gets to the port safe. Do me a favor and make sure Brigitte doesn’t get hurt. They have that sniper who’s a pain in the ass to deal with.” Angela smiled and nodded.

“I’ll do my best,” she agreed. She put her pistol on her hip, she hoped she didn’t have to use it but if Brigitte’s life was threatened she wouldn’t hesitate to use it, and followed him out.

It was hectic, they had two members who could somehow ghost about the place and open fire on them at any time. Her heart twinged a bit every time she heard the shotguns of the one Talon agent go off; she’d only gone on a handful of missions with Gabe but he used the same weapons in the field, and it reminded her of her lost love.

And then she got separated from the main group, and pulled out her pistol while she tried to get back to them, freezing when a cloud of black mist formed in front of her.

And then her world burst into color once again and she gasped.

“Gabriel?” she asked hopefully, staring at the white mask.

“Angela…” The voice was raspier than she remembered, but it was definitely him.

“Gabe,” she sobbed, clutching her hand to her mouth. Gabe tossed his guns down and took a step towards her.

“GET AWAY FROM HER!” Reinhardt bellowed, as the sounds of rockets grew closer. They looked in the direction and saw the angry german flying towards them, hammer swinging. The momentum behind Reinhardt as well as the sheer strength behind his swing knocked Gabriel through the wall. Angela screamed as it happened.

“You path back is clear,” he said, eyed the broke body beneath the rubble as color slowly began to fade from Angela’s vision. He started jogging back to the main group, the clatter from his armor concealing the sound of Angela running into the building.

“You’re okay,” Gabe said as she fell to her knees beside him. “I couldn’t find you afterwards, I thought you’d been killed.” She began frantically feeling at his ribs, definitely shattered. She looked up as he removed his mask to get a better look at her, a happy smile on his lips, despite the dark blood dribbling from his lips. Her heart pounded as she fiddled with her staff, hoping she could do it fast enough.

“Angela, look at me,” he cupped her cheek and she stopped, leaning into the familiarity of it.

“Gabe, you’re dying,” she whispered, unable to manage anything more.

“Nothing new, at least this time I’m not alone,” he laughed, coughing up more blood. He pulled her face towards his, wrapping his other arm around her waist. He gave her a soft kiss, unable of anything more. “I never stopped loving you. And I’ll love you through death.” he brushed away a falling tear from her face. She leaned down and kissed his forehead, sending up a silent prayer.

“Heroes never die,” she whispered, pressing a button on her staff. A yellow aura surrounded them both, he gasped as his bones mended together along with the hole in his lung. After a moment, she grinned down at him with a teary smile.

“I’m no hero,” he replied, caressing her cheek again. “I’ve done so many bad things-”

“You’ve always been my hero,” she replied. “Now stay here, play dead. I’ll be back once I can slip away.” She kissed him again, held his hand for a moment, and then flew off in her suit.

She returned later to find him missing, and a note where he was supposed to have been in an annoyingly familiar hand, listing an address.

“Meet us here, 36 hours.” The elegant chicken scratch belonged to Moira. Of course she’d joined Talon as well. She returned to camp and assisted with the remaining patients.

The next day she followed the address to a bar, outside of which was the shock of red hair that belonged to the deranged geneticist.

“Follow me,” she said, heading into the alleyway next to the bar. Angela followed cautiously, but rushed by when she saw Gabriel. She ran by and rushed into his arms, crying into his chest, and could feel his tears in her hair.

“I feel like I’m watching a bad movie,” an unfamiliar female voice said. Angela turned her face to look at the young Hispanic woman leaning on the wall across from them.

“Fuck off and buy a drink,” Gabe grumbled into Angela’s hair.

“On you?” she asked.

“If it gets you out of my hair for ten minutes,” he replied. She skipped off into the bar, followed by Moira. Once they were out of range, Angela backed off and planted a solid punch in Gabe’s bruised ribs. He yelped, mostly in surprise.

“That’s for going and starting a fight!” she snapped, waving her hands around. “I wake up, and boom! It’s all grey! Do you know what that’s like, Gabriel?”

“That’s what happened with me,” he admitted. “I thought you’d caught wind of the fight and rushed to the building and gotten killed. I wasn’t able to find you afterwards.”

“You said you were coming home early! You said you’d be back and we’d go out to see that damn movie, and that we’d have a proper date,” She sobbed, her years of pain welling up inside her. “You didn’t say you were starting some sort of civil war within Overwatch! You didn’t tell me you were about to become a fugitive if you got out of there alive! You didn’t tell me anything!”

“I was trying to keep you safe,” he replied, accepting her anger. “I realized to late I did it in the worst possible way. I just wanted you out of the line of fire, and if you’d known, you would have done everything to stop it-”

“Of course I would have!” she sobbed. “I would have done anything to have kept you from running to your death!” She punched him again before falling into his chest and crying even more. He pulled her close, and placed a kiss on the top of her head.

“I regretted it the moment I woke up,” he whispered. “I watched the news cast, no color, hearing that there were unidentified corpses. As soon as I was able I went to the apartment, and our things were gone. Everything suggested that you had died. I wanted to turn back the clock, call in sick that day too. Just stayed in bed with you, and let everything pass me by…” His voice cracked and his grip on her tightened slightly.

“You should have just retired,” she whispered. “You should have just walked away from it all.”

“I know,” he replied. “Yesterday… I thought I was happy when I first met you. But it was nothing to finding out that you were alive.” she smiled up at him and lifted herself up on tiptoe to kiss him. He pulled her up closer and pushed into it desperately. They lost track of the world for a moment, everything was okay for a moment.

She pulled away, kissed his cheek, and then dug her face into his neck.

“I’m still mad at you, but I’m still happy you’re alive,” she sighed.

“Barely,” came the voice of the Hispanic girl behind them.

“What did you get that you finished in five minute?” Gabriel demanded.

“She ordered the biggest margarita they had and chugged,” Moira said, walking up behind them. “She spent the last minute on the ground with brain freeze.”

“No regrets!” The younger woman piped up.

“I traded one miscreant for another,” Gabe whispered into her ear, making her smile.

“Ah, Jesse’s a good kid. He and Genji check in with me and take me to dinner every so often,” she said. Her heartbreak started to ease away, there in his arms again.

“I didn’t realize you two were an item,” the young woman said, turning to lean on the other wall. “She was in so many pictures with Morrison I thought she was his soulmate.”

“He wishes,” Gabe snorted.

“Wished, he died too,” Angela reminded him.

“Nope! Used it as a cover and slipped away,” The young woman replied.

“Someone else whose ass I need to kick,” Angela grumbled, bringing a smile to Gabe’s lips.

“You two can’t stay together, you realize this, right?” Moira asked. “He’s a Talon agent and you’re, uh, not.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Gabe said, squeezing her shoulder. Angela smiled and nodded, leaning back into his chest.


End file.
